To a Whorehouse

"Where are we going?" Winlay finally asked after several minutes of this hurried pace.

"Somewhere safe." Was Adam's curt reply "At least as safe as anywhere we can think of in Telnon." The cryptic answer was enough to satisfy Winlay for now although the neighborhood that the pair were heading into looked both rundown and dangerous. If it weren't for the tall stranger at her side she would have been decidedly uneasy, but there was something in the way he moved that made her believe that her guide was more than capable of taking care of himself no matter how rough the neighborhood. Several times she saw groups of drunken sailors staggering past them who eyed her with questionable intent, but Adam barely reacted to their crude comments and the men let them pass without any other harassment. Soon after the third of these encounters they arrived at a brightly painted house with gilded windows and dozens of lanterns that lit up the street despite the late hour. The two huge men wearing exotic silk pants and black leather boots guarded the double doors with ebony-shafted pole arms that gleamed in the lamplight.

Winlay's guide ignored the broad steps to the main door guarded by the two bare-chested giants. Instead he took Winlay through a small locked door hidden behind a ragged stand of bamboo that reeked of urine. As Adam locked the door carefully behind them Winlay had a moment to take in the abrupt differences between the two sides of the wall. Instead of the scraggly bamboo and muddy uneven cobble stones of the street, there were beautiful flower beds and the citrus trees laden with fruit. From this side of the high garden wall none of the squalid smells or harsh sounds of the street marred the tranquility of the surroundings. The grass under feet was soft and cool and music and laughter drifted from the open windows of the three storied house, it was like stepping into a fairy-tale.

"What is this place?" Winlay asked as she gazed up at the large building, could this really be Adam's home? "I don't understand, who are you?"

"Welcome to the Hook Line and Sinker, Sister Winlay." Her guide smiled warmly "This will be your home for the next few days at least, perhaps longer. Could you wait here for just a moment?" Winlay nodded obediently and stood quietly as her mysterious guide slipped into one of the many doors leading to the gardens. Through floor-to-ceiling windows Winlay could see men and woman lounging around inside and a silent fear began growing until it burst forth in a hushed whisper.

"This is a brothel!" The man she had thought her savior had taken her to a whorehouse. She bleakly looked for a way to escape but in her heart she knew that it was hopeless. It was all she could do not to break into hysterics when she saw Adam step back out into the garden. Seeing him in this new light Winlay realized why he had seemed so confident as he led her through the streets. How many times had Beldan's broken victims ended up in this pimp's clutches? Even Adam's good looks now made sense, he was a courtesan and a pimp - it is no wonder he could be attractive when it suited him.

"It's all set Sister Winlay." Adam's gentle voice quieted her panic like a horseman soothing a spooked mare, "I arranged for a room for tonight."